Conductor rail mountings

ABSTRACT

A conductor rail mounting comprising a conductor rail member clamped to a support member with the interposition of at least one cushion having a filling of resilient material and a cover for contacting at least one of the said members, the cover being formed from a material having a coefficient of friction substantially lower than that of the filling.

United States Patent [191 Bommart CONDUCTOR RAIL MOUNTINGS [75] Inventor: Patrick Bommart, Rueil Malmaison,

France [73] Assignee: Acieries De Gennevilliers Anciens Etablissements C. Delachaux, Louis Roche, Gennevilliers, France [22] Filed: Mar. 16, 1973 [21] Appl. No.: 340,780

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Mar. 17, 1972 France. 72.9437

[52] us. (:1 191/32, 191/40, 238/283 51 Int. Cl B60m1/30 5s FieldofSearch 191/32, 40; 238/283 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 726,599 4/1903 Wheeler 191/32 111 3,835,268 [451 Sept. 10,1974

2,407,400 9/1946 Chamberlain 238/283 3,335,955 8/1967 Palfreyman 238/283 Primary ExaminerRobert S. Ward, Jr. Assistant ExaminerD. W. Keen Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Alan H. Levine; Breitenfeld & Levine s7 ABSTRACT A conductor rail mounting comprising a conductor rail member clamped to a support member with the. interposition of at least one cushion having a filling of resilient material and a cover for contacting at least one of the said members, the cover being formed from a material having a coefficient of friction substantially lower than that of the filling.

11 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTED SEP] 0 I924 S-HEU 1 OF 2 f CONDUCTOR RAIL MOUNTINGS This invention relates to conductor rail mountings intended for example for mounting rigid conductor rails for supplying electric power to mobile equipment such as travelling cranes or hoisting gear or electrically propelled vehicles.

Rigid conductor rails of this kind conventionally comprise conductor rail members or assemblies mounted in alignment on generally insulating supports. The rails may be simple conductor rails of metal, such as steel or copper, or they may be of more elaborate or complex form, for example comprising aluminium coated with stainless steel. Such structures will be referred to herein as rail members, it being understood that this term is tobe interpreted in the widest sense.

The main problem encountered in the mounting of rigid conductor rails is that of securing the rail member to the supports. The mounting must ensure the positioning and mechanical behavior of the rail member which must be comparatively rigid as regards transverse movement, while at the same time having a certain tolerance or freedom to move in a longitudinal direction, more particularly so that expansion can take place freely. Such expansion arises from a wide variation of temperature to which the rail member may be subjected, in some cases due to heating produced by the electric current flowing through it, and in addition due to variation in ambient temperature which may be considerable, particularly when the rail is in the open.

An object of the present invention is to provide a simple and effective form of mounting meeting these requirements.

According to the present invention a conductor rail comprises a conductor rail member clamped to a support member with the interposition of at least one cushion having a filling of resilient material and a cover for contacting at least one of the said members, the cover being formed from a material having a coefficient of friction substantially lower than that of the filling. Preferably the cover completely encloses the filling and contacts both the rail and the support, for example it may be afforded by a tube having its ends flattened. Thus the cushion may be of elongated form extending parallel to the length of the conductor rail. The cushion may be of electrically insulating material in which case it may serve to insulate or assist in insulating the rail from the support. The cover may be .formed of polytetrafluoroethylene, while the filling may be formed of natural or synthetic rubber such as neoprene.

In one form of the invention each cushion is fixed to the support independently, for example it may be partially received in a cavity in the support. Conveniently each cushion has at each end a ring which is flattened to clamp the ends of its cover and which is secured to the support and serves to fix the cushion to it.

In a further form of the invention at least two cushions are previously mounted on frame elements to form an assembly matching the shape of the part of the rail with which they co-operate. In this case the ends of the cushions may be gripped between opposed surfaces of the frame elements to secure the cushions to the said elements.

Further features and details of the invention will be apparent from the following description of certain spec'ific embodiments, given by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic cross section of the mounting according to the invention of a rail on a support.

FIG. 2 is a section on the line II-II in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an assembly of clamping and sliding cushions used in a first embodiment of the invention, FIG. 3a being a variant of FIG. 3.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an individual cushion in a second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal section of the mounting of the individual cushion of FIG. 4 on the support S.

FIGS. 6 and 7 are transverse sections respectively on the lines VI-VI and VIP-VII in FIG. 5. FIG. 1 shows a conductor rail R which is to be fixed on an insulating support S, which is shown only partially. In the example illustrated, the top part of the rail is held in the support S between the body 10 of the support and a jaw 11 secured to the body by means of bolts 12. The body 10 and the jaw 11 have opposed recesses 10a and 11a, the general shape of which corresponds to that of the top part of the rail R is of a slightly larger SIZC.

In the arrangement of FIGS. 1 to 3 the rail R is mounted in the recesses 10a and 11a of the support with the interposition of a set of cushions 20 mounted on frame elements 21 (see FIG. 3). each cushion 20 comprises an outer cover 20a formed of a material having a low coefficient of friction, for example from a tube of polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon), and a resilient inner filling 20b formed, for example, from a rod or cord of Neoprene (Shore hardness: 50/60).

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, each frame element 21 is a sheet-metal channel bent to the shape of the top part of the rail, and having its ends 22 folded over to grip and clamp the end portions 20a and 20a of the cover 20a of each cushion, which extend beyond the filling.

The-use of such a system will readily be understood: the frame elements 21 capping the top part of the rail andthe assembly being introduced into the recesses 10a and 11a, the jaw 11 is clamped to the body 10 by the bolts 12. This clamping compresses the cushions 20 as shown in FIG. 1, a clamping pressure being exerted on the rail and ensuring that it is held rigidly against transverse movement.

Thus transverse movement of the rail is resisted by an appreciable clamping force. On the other hand the very low coefficient of friction of the outer covers 20a of the cushions 20 allow longitudinal tolerance or freedom of movement of the rail, particularly due to expansion.

The advantage of the system according to the invention will be apparent, since it enables a high clamping pressure to be used with the possibility of appreciable longitudinal tolerance.

Apart from this fundamental advantage, the mounting according to the invention has the following secondary advantages: firstly, it is remarkably durable because the outer cover of the cushions is insensitive to atmospheric agents, and also protects the resilient inner filling. Secondly, the high elasticity of the cushions allows any incorrect alignment of the insulating support S with respect to the conductor rail to be compensated. It should also be noted that the resilience of the cushions makes the system according to the invention very effective against vibration. The cushions also form a prime factor in the electrical insulation of the rail circuit. It should also be noted that the use of separate cushions as clamping and sliding elements obviates any accumulation of dust and foreign bodies at the clamping zone.

FIG. 3a illustrates a variant in the mounting of a set of cushions 20. In this case, the ends 20a and 20a of the cover 200 are clamped between two separate bent sheet-metal frame elements 30, each element having a general U-shape, as well as being of U section.

FIGS. 4 to 7 show another embodiment in which the cushions are directly and individually secured to the support.

In this case, the cushion 120 again comprises an outer tubular cover 120a made of Teflon, and an inner filling 120k made of Neoprene.

At each of the two ends of the cushion the cover 1200 is clamped in a ring 121, for example of copper, the, ring, which is initially of circular shape, being pressed and flattened as shown in FIG. 4 to clamp and retain the ends of the tubular cover 120a. The two flattened rings 121 comprise a substantially plane contact and support surface 121a (FIG. 4).

On assembly, as will be more readily seen from FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, each cushion 120 is mounted in a groove A formed in the insulating support S. The support surfaces 1210 of the rings 121 are secured, as by adhesive, to the wall of the groove A. Finally, only the central part of the cushion 120 projects slightly from the support S. As will be seen more particularly from FIGS. and 6, the section of the groove A corresponds to the shape of the rings 121 and the central part of the pad.

The second embodiment shown in FIGS. 4 to 7 retains all the advantages of the invention, which is not limited to the two embodiments described.

What we Claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. A conductor rail assembly comprising a conductor rail member clamped to a support member, and a plurality of rod-like cushions interposed between said members, each of said cushions having an inner filling of resilient material and an outer cover contacting both of said members, said cover being formed of a material having a low coefficient of friction.

2. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which each of said tubular cushions extends parallel to the longitudinal axis of said rail member.

3. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which said cover is formed of polytetrafluoroethylene and said filling is formed of rubber.

4. An assembly as claimed in claim I, in which each cushion is independently fixed to said support member.

5. An assembly as claimed in claim 4, in which each cushion is partially received in acavity in said support member.

6. An assembly as claimed in claim 4, in which each cushion has at each end a ring which is flattened to clamp the ends of its cover, each ring being secured to said support member and serving to fix its respective cushion to said support member.

7. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which said cushions are mounted in frame elements to form a subassembly matching the shape of the said rail member.

8. An assembly as claimed in claim 7, in which both ends of said cushions are gripped between opposed surfaces of said frame elements.

9. A rod-like cushion for interposition between a conductor rail member and a support member to which the rail member is secured, said cushion comprising an outer tube of material having a low coefficient of friction, and a filling of resilient material within said tube.

10. A cushion assembly comprising a plurality of cushions as claimed in claim 9, and a pair of frame elements, all the corresponding ends of said cushions being secured to one of said frame elements and all the opposite corresponding ends of said cushions being secured to the other of said frame elements, and said frame elements each having a shape corresponding to a portion of the cross-sectional shape of the rail with which the cushion assembly is to be used.

v 11. A cushion assembly as claimed in claim 10 wherein each of said frame elements has a U-shaped cross-section, the ends of said cushions being clamped within said U-shaped section. 

1. A conductor rail assembly comprising a conductor rail member clamped to a support member, and a plurality of rod-like cushions interposed between said members, each of said cushions having an inner filling of resilient material and an outer cover contacting both of said members, said cover being formed of a material having a low coefficient of friction.
 2. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which each of said tubular cushions extends parallel to the longitudinal axis of said rail member.
 3. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which said cover is formed of polytetrafluoroethylene and said filling is formed of rubber.
 4. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which each cushion is independently fixed to said support member.
 5. An assembly as claimed in claim 4, in which each cushion is partially received in a cavity in said support member.
 6. An assembly as claimed in claim 4, in which each cushion has at each end a ring which is flattened to clamp the ends of its cover, each ring being secured to said support member and serving to fix its respective cushion to said support member.
 7. An assembly as claimed in claim 1, in which said cushions are mounted in frame elements to form a sub-assembly matching the shape of the said rail member.
 8. An assembly as claimed in claim 7, in which both ends of said cushions are gripped between opposed surfaces of said frame elements.
 9. A rod-like cushion for interposition between a conductor rail member and a support member to which the rail member is secured, said cushion comprising an outer tube of material having a low coefficient of friction, and a filling of resilient material within said tube.
 10. A cushion assembly comprising a plurality of cushions as claimed in claim 9, and a pair of frame elements, all the corresponding ends of said cushions being secured to one of said frame elements and all the opposite corresponding ends of said cushions being secured to the other of said frame elements, and said frame elements each having a shape corresponding to a portion of the cross-sectional shape of the rail with which the cushion assembly is to be used.
 11. A cushion assembly as claimed in claim 10 wherein each of said frame elements has a U-shaped cross-section, the ends of said cushions being clamped within said U-shaped section. 